Andrew Rosenthal says the U.S. has been trending in this direction for some time.

New York Times editor: Pot prohibition 'unacceptable'

By Jonathan Topaz

07/27/14 11:06 AM EDT

New York Times Editorial Page Editor Andrew Rosenthal on Sunday defended the paper's call for ending the federal prohibition on marijuana, saying the ban's cost to the country is "absolutely unacceptable."

“We’re not urging people to smoke pot anymore than we are for them to drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes," he said during an interview on ABC's "This Week." "It’s just that making it illegal was creating a social cost for the country that was absolutely unacceptable.”

On Saturday, the Times's editorial board endorsed the end of the federal ban on marijuana and announced an interactive six-part series to discuss the issue. In the editorial, the board called for federal restrictions on those under 21 but for states to determine their own policies for those 21 and older.

On Sunday, Rosenthal said the U.S. has been trending in this direction for some time.

“The country has been moving in this direction," he said. "Public opinion is clearly there. We’ve been watching the states experiment, and more and more states now — it’s about 37 — allow marijuana, either for medical or now for recreational use, and they’re doing it in defiance of federal law.”

A Gallup survey from October 2013 showed that 58 percent of Americans support marijuana legalization, including two-thirds of adults under 30. Both Colorado and Washington state have begun implementation of legalized marijuana trade in their states, and Alaska and Oregon will vote on statewide legalization in November.

Asked by host Jonathan Karl whether members of The Times editorial board smoked marijuana, Rosenthal said only that he had in the past.

“I’ve never asked the people that work for me whether they smoke pot, and I’m not going to ask," Rosenthal said of his fellow board members. "I have smoked pot in my life. I went to college in Colorado in the 1970s — you figure it out.”